His airline is facing its first major crisis with the disappearance of flight QZ8501. But AirAsia's bossman knows exactly how to perform under fire.

“I’ve been staring at the sky all morning,” boasted AirAsia’s outspoken bossman Tony Fernandes to me. “I can tell how an airline is being run by watching its planes land – from what I see, I can’t wait to get into India.” The Malaysian tycoon of Indian origin was in Mumbai last September for the GQ Men of the Year awards, where he was being decorated for his greatest achievement: buying a loss-making stateowned carrier in Kuala Lumpur a decade ago and transforming it into Asia’s fourth-largest airline.

A few weeks before we met, the Indian government had unexpectedly announced it was relaxing regulations and would now allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in local carriers. “I never thought this would happen in my lifetime,” Fernandes said when we chatted the morning of the big awards night. Soon after our conversation, he set off to meet with bigwigs from the Tata group at Bombay House.

I’m sure I was the only journalist who knew about these meetings, and when I pressed Fernandes for their outcomes later that day, he mocked me affectionately. Yet I wasn’t surprised when news broke a few months later that Fernandes was launching a Chennai-based airline in conjunction with the Tatas. A third partner would be Laxmi Mittal’s son-in-law Amit Bhatia (of the Versailles wedding fame), with whom Fernandes also co-owns the storied Queens Park Rangers Football Club in London. Furthermore, Fernandes is the boss of the Caterham Formula One team. Not bad for a 50-year-old guy with no family backing, whose only experience until a decade ago was as an employee at a few music record labels.

And Fernandes is just one of the 50 men we recognize on this year’s list of the most influential global Indians. Make no mistake: Each of them has a remarkable story.

Update:

In the face of AirAsia’s first crisis – the disappearance of flight QZ8501, bossman Tony Fernandes has been leading from the front, making sure his staff and passengers know the man at the top is spending as many restless minutes as they are.

Keeping positive and staying strong. My heart bleeds for all the relatives of my crew and our passangers. Nothing is more important to us.

The company has been keeping anxious families updated with statements on its social media platforms, the latest being this Facebook post which reveals emergency call centre numbers for those looking for information on their missing loved ones.